Education for entrepreneurs this summer in Reykjavik

Klak – Innovation Centre

Klak is an innovation centre which emphasises on education for entrepreneurs.

Klak operates the Business Accelerator – the fast track for new companies - and is an active contributor to the GEM research and other researches on entrepreneurship. Klak offers consulting to small and medium sized companies and hosts various networking events for different groups. Klak is also an incubator centre and hosts in its offices many different companies in different industries.

The Business Accelerator is available year round in Icelandic but is being offered in English for the first time in the summer of 2009. Please take time to read about the Business Accelerator in the attachment.

Entrepreneurs from other countries will benefit from coming to Iceland, taking themselves or their team, away from their every day environment and giving themselves time to focus on the challenges and opportunities ahead.

In the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the largest ongoing study of entrepreneurial dynamics in the world:

- Iceland ranks # 1 in the total informal investment as a percentage of GDP

In addition to the high standard education for entrepreneurs, bringing together motivated and energetic people from various sectors around the world, as well as arranging special day trips to Iceland’s unforgettable countryside the Business Accelerator makes a trip to Iceland unforgettable.

Few of Klak’s events:

Nattura

Klak collaborated with singer Björk Guðmundsdóttir, Reykjavík University and various individuals on the Nattura.info project. The project was started with the goal of facilitating communication between different industries and to create collaborating clusters within industries. On this occasion Björk released a new song, Nattura, which royalties went into supporting the growth of entrepreneurial companies in Iceland.www.nattura.info

Hugspretta

After the financial collapse in Iceland in the beginning of October 2008 the uncertainty was hard on all members of society. In order to motivate people and get them to focus positively on the challenges and opportunities ahead, Klak and Innovit – innovation centre for university students, joined forces for the event Hugspretta. In Hugspretta some of Iceland‘s most inspiring speakers and role models talked about ways to conquer the crisis and how to make the most out of opportunities ahead. President of Iceland, singer Björk Guðmundsdóttir, Magnus Scheving founder of Lazy-Town, Gudjon Mar Gudjonsson IT serial-entrepreneur and more spoke of a better, more tactical future. Dr. Haukur Ingi Jonasson lead the group into a brain storm where participants though about new ways to utilize Iceland‘s resources. The results for ways to increase their value were sent to the government, press and other influential people in society. The mission for this event was not to create new companies but to show participants how with constant search for opportunities everyone can come up with new ideas for them to carry out.

Seed Forum

Klak organises Seed Forum Iceland, an investment forum in an agreement with Seed forum International.The Seed Forum process has the objective of providing competence within investor readiness and investor matchmaking opportunities within seed and venture capital to born global companies. Seed Forum International Foundation and Seed Forum Master Partners are giving born global companies seeking capital a unique opportunity to present their business concepts to investors by facilitating international and local investor matchmaking forums. The companies presenting to investors are nominated, selected and trained in the Seed Forum process to secure that the companies are investor-ready when they present to investors. The Seed Forum process is also important to reduce the risk for investments in early stage companies.

Orkuverid

Klakcollaborates with Icelandic design centre for design in Iceland on the event “Orkuverid”.

It is a monthly “speed-dating-event” where designers and business people meet and introduce ideas on collaboration to each other with the goal of find a suitable partner for their venture.